Executive Summary

Our group was asked to analyze the Kodak Fun Saver single-use camera. The main objectives of this project were to analyze the components of the camera, determine their functions, and suggest improvements that can be made to the camera. Before anything else, we made some assumptions about the camera, including an estimation of the number of parts inside the camera, how the camera works, and if the camera worked at all. Then we disassembled the camera piece by piece documenting our observations and took pictures of each part in order to keep track of all of them. The approximate time for the disassembly process was about 1 hour, and was surprisingly easy because of the camera’s simple design. The disassembly process helped us to understand what was inside of the camera, and allowed us to begin to understand each components function. Also, we assumed what the manufacturing process involved in making each part was, based on any clues that we could find on the part. Most of the parts were made of plastic and manufactured by injection molding. Besides plastic, the other materials involved in the camera were metal and silicone. The use of plastic and the minimum number of parts in the camera is what makes it inexpensive, recyclable, and lightweight, which makes the camera cheap for the consumer. The reassembly process was easy given that we had all the pictures from the disassembly process. The reassembly process took us less then 1 hour. After becoming very familiar with the camera, we were able to come up with several possible improvements for the camera. This was difficult, however, because Kodak has been manufacturing single-use cameras for over 20 years, and they have managed to cut down costs in a lot of ways, which is very apparent with their current design.

Introduction

The Kodak Fun Saver single-use camera is an inexpensive means for the consumer to take pictures and is realtivly easy for the consumer to operate. It is considered easy to use because as soon as the customer has the camera in their hands, it is ready to take pictures and when they have finished the roll of film inside the camera, they simply take the entire camera to be developed and never have to deal with the film itself. The model that we evaluated for our project has built in flash capability, and can take up to 27 pictures. This model is still on the market today, and can be found in stores for an average price of only $6.50. Another large benefit of single-use cameras is their recyclability. According to Kodak's website, up to 77% of every single-use camera gets re-used. We have concluded that it is not 100% because of the film and battery in the camera, which are not re-useable after a standard useage.